BPL 2013: Day 9: Chelsea vs Manchester United: Match Officials ruin the day as Chelsea face their first defeat of the season

Not just the Chelsea fans, but even as neutrals, we were witness to one the most poorly officiated games in recent years in the Chelsea versus Manchester United match in the Barclays Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. Horrendous decisions in the second half lead to a highly potential game turn into in a lost cause for Chelsea. Things were looking challenging for both the sets of the fans in the early second half when the scoreline was 2-2 and the game could have literally gone in any direction. But instead it turned into one where the referee (instead of the players !) had a major role to play in the final outcome of the match.

Van Persie gave Manchester United a strong start with 2 early goals within the first 12 minutes of the game. The first one came lucky as the ball hit David Luiz to fall back in to the net, whereas the second goal was scored thanks to a brilliant cross from Valencia that left Chelsea defenders reaching for the ball. Manchester United looked very strong and swift in the early stages of the match. Chelsea on the other side were not playing up to their potential and with a defeat on their back in the mid-week against Shakthar Donetsk in Champions League, things seemed gloomy for them initially. But as the game progressed Chelsea started to find rhythm with their three innovative players Mata, Oscar and Hazard. Eventually just before the break, Juan Mata curled in an excellent free kick to give Chelsea the hope to savor something from the game. At the break the score read 1-2 for Chelsea.

As the second half started, Chelsea looked confident and were able to replicate their form from the first half. Thanks to this persistence, Chelsea scored again to level the score just as clock struck 53. From here on the game promised to be one of the classics of the season, but the referee Mark Clattenberg had other plans.

The first important decision of the game was given when the referee red-carded Chelsea defender Ivanovic for toppling Manchester forward Ashley Young. While the referee was in clear view of the scene that lead to the sending off, Mr Clattenberg did not take into account the momentum in the running direction of the Chelsea defender that was bound to topple Ashley Young. There have been many instances where there have been doubts to send off a defender who denies an attacker a clear chance on goal, but this definitely was not one of the cases, since Ivanovic had already raised his hands over, indicating that he was not at fault even before the whistle was blown. Although it was a soft decision, Chelsea were down to 10-men and had to fight the game with limited resources.

The latest trend in Premier League referees has been to punish players that have been responsible for diving. But Mr Clattenberg went a little too far in the game when he red-carded Fernando Torres accusing him of diving, when everybody in the ground could have seen that there was a a clear contact with Manchester defender Evans. When Fernando was tipped, everyone was of the impression that Evans was the offender here, but people were astonished to learn that the whistle was for Fernando and not Evans. Fernando was shocked to see a red-card coming out of the referee's pocket for this foul of his. From this point on, the entire aura of the game was lost thanks to the referee, who is actually put in place to make sure that things run smoothly during the game.

Impaired Chelsea tried to hang on but the officials were not yet done. Manchester's third goal while "clearly" an offside, but was still given to take the scoreline to 2-3. Van Persie's brilliant effort was parried away by Chelsea keeper Cech to just brush the goal post and fall directly on the path of Manchester player Rafael. When Rafael took the shot, Manchester attacker Javier Hernandez was free in front of the goal with no Chelsea player ahead of him. Now the offside rule says that there need to be a minimum of 2 opposing side players in front of the attacker to term it as an onside, which meant yet another disastrous decision. The match finally ended with a scoreline of 2-3 to Chelsea, but much of the action came from the "Men in Black" and not from someone in Red/Blue.

It is evident that the referees are under a lot of pressure to deliver in these season-defining games, but that does not imply that quality can be compromised in these situations. We have seen from the past that crucial decisions have changed the face of the match and this was the case even in this game. The officials literally killed the game with their poor decisions, although not much can be done now, the Football Association (England) has to make sure that truly qualified and experienced officials must be given charge to officiate critical games like these.

This was Chelsea's first defeat of this Barclays Premier League season but they still stand on top of the table with 22 points, while Manchester teams are both placed at 2nd and 3rd positions with 21 points each.
For their next game, Chelsea travel to Swansea and Manchester United host Arsenal on 03rd November 2012.

Article References:
1. http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/matches/2012-2013/epl.html/chelsea-vs-man-utd

Image References:
1. http://horyaalka.com/wp-content/themes/blognews/timthumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fhoryaalka.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2Fchelsea-vs-man-u.jpg&q=90&w=460&h=260&zc=1
2. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/28/article-2223674-15BB8988000005DC-1000_634x372.jpg
3. http://images.football365.com/12/10/800x600/Fernando-Torres-red-card-Chelsea-v-Manchester_2852441.jpg 

UCL 2013: Day 1: Chelsea v/s Juventus: The "Oscar" surrendered at Stamford Bridge

Reigning champions, Chelsea, came on head to head with Juventus to begin their Champions League 2012/2013 campaign at home. The highlight of the game was 21-year old Oscar, who was playing his first Champions League game ever. This prodigy proved his worth in yesterday's match with two dream goals for Chelsea. The game eventually ended in a draw, thanks to a great comeback from resilient Juventus.

After winning the Champions league in their last campaign for the first time, Chelsea were confident ahead of their first game this year. Following from the loss by Atletico Madrid and a draw with QPR, Chelsea had to get back on their feet to continue their dream start to the season. While on the other side of the coin, Juventus were playing their first Champions league game after nearly 2 years and seemed nervous at the start of the game. Juventus manager, Antonio Conte, was given an extension on his ban by 10 more months in August 2012 following his involvement in the match fixing scandal in Italy; thereby bringing on Massimo Carrera as incharge on the sidelines.

Chelsea started strong with swift moves, passes and team pressing, taking Juventus by surprise and putting them on the back foot. Chelsea have developed a lethal combination of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Ramires, Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel in the midfield. But Roberto Di Matteo has not been able to capitalize on Fernando Torres' skills completely. With his gameplay it seems that this forward is more suited for a second striker role which brings in the perspective of missing Didier Drogba - like player, who anchored himself as a strong forward. It yet remains to see if Chelsea's new signing Victor Moses can take on this huge responsibility in the games ahead.

About half an hour in the game, it seemed that the game would end into stalemate. But just as the clock struck 31, Oscar's attempt towards goal was deflected by Juventus defender to fall luckily into the net, thereby giving Chelsea the lead 1-0. Immediately the players ran towards Oscar to congratulate the kid on his effort, this being his first goal ever in the Champions League. Oscar was probably not contented with the greetings from his earlier goal, when he scored a scorcher from just outside the box to stun the visitors and take Chelsea ahead by 2-0. Even a goalkeeper like Gianluigi Buffon was just a spectator for this effort at goal.

Oscar celebrating after scoring two back-to-back goals in his first appearance in Champions league

At this point in time, Stamford Bridge was roaring with Chelsea fans while Juventus fans stood and hoped for something to happen their way. Just 5 minutes later, their prayers were answered when Juventus striker, Arturo Vidal hit a ground shot by his left leg to give Juventus a glimmer of hope to save the match. At half time, the scoreline read 2-1 to Chelsea. 

During the second half, Chelsea were sloppy on the pitch giving away easy possession and inaccurate passes. Although Juventus pressed hard for an equalizer, Chelsea had no plans to surrender their lead to the Italians. It does appear that Roberto has a lot of faith on John Obi Mikel, since he is considered to be the key player as Chelsea's defending mid-fielder. Sending Michael Essien to Real Madrid on a year-long loan was probably not a wise decision for Chelsea, considering the superior capabilities of this player as compared to Mikel.

Just 10 minutes from time, Juventus' subsitute player Quagliarella capitalized on the superb through ball to score the much awaited equalizer for them. After this goal, repeated attempts from both the sides were futile to end the game in a draw.

Chelsea failed to start the Champions league campaign with a win since 2007, but considering the group they are placed in, it should not be much of a problem for them to progress to the next stage. Chelsea have to start defending their lead in the game if they aim to secure silver ware this season and retain this title. Chelsea will face new entrants, Norsjaelland, when they travel to Denmark on Tuesday, 02nd October 2012 for their next group game.

Article references:
1. UEFA Champions League 2013  - Chelsea - Juventus; http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2013/matches/round=2000347/match=2009489/index.html
2. Antonio Conte has 10-month ban upheld by tribunal; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19079604
3. Juventus' Antonio Conte gets 10-month ban in connection with match-fixing; http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/aug/10/antonio-conte-juventus-match-fixing-banned
4. Chelsea 2 Juventus 2: Italians blast back to knock Oscar off centre stage; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2205770/Chelsea-2-Juventus-2-Oscars-limelight-stolen-late-equaliser.html

Image references:
1. Reuters/Eddie Koegh; http://news.yahoo.com/photos/entertainment-slideshow/chelseas-oscar-celebrates-scoring-goal-against-juventus-during-photo-193824798.html

BPL 2013: Day 1: Wigan - Chelsea: Eden proves Hazard-ous for the Latics

Premier League 2012-2013

As curtains were raised to mark the beginning of a new Barclays Premier League season at the JJB stadium for both Wigan Athletic and Chelsea, it was the reigning European champions that came out with all the three points on the first day of the league with early strikes. Although, Wigan showed signs of a fightback, they could not capitalise on the chances they had in the game to change the result. On the other hand, Chelsea showed strong performance in all the three departments of the game with newly induced vigour with their new signings over the summer in the lights of Eden Hazard and Oscar.

Wigan - Chelsea at JJB stadium, 19th August 2012

Wigan suffered huge blows early in the game when Chelsea struck twice within the first 6 minutes of the game. Eden Hazard proved to be the talisman for both the goals by assisting one and earning a penalty for the other. One aspect that Roberto Di Matteo has definitely worked on during the summer break is the Counter-attacking. This facet of Chelsea's football was at its best when Eden Hazard received the ball from the defence and gave us a glimpse of his skills when he displayed a wonderful 180 degree to fool the Wigan defender. After his first touch, he passed the ball towards Branislav Ivanovic, who was sprinting down the right flank with literally no resistance from the Wigan defence. Ivanovic struck the ball hard in the net to take Chelsea ahead in the second minute of the game.
Eden Hazard was again under the spotlight when he was tackled by the Wigan defender in the Wigan box to earn Chelsea a penalty, just four minutes since the first goal was scored. Eden Hazard showed resilience, strength and sharp skills to earn the penalty. Chelsea's veteran, Frank Lampard, stepped up to take the penalty and successfully delivered to go up 2-0 in the game. Chelsea fans roared anthems since they were exposed to a Chelsea side that they most dearly wanted to see.
After Chelsea scored the second goal, Chelsea began to sit back a little while allowing Wigan space and time to get their attacks organised. During this time, although Wigan seemed to be more active in the attacking front, there were bits and pieces of Chelsea's game-play that need to be highlighted here, which could prove highly beneficial for Chelsea in the long run.

1. Mata - Hazard combination
Juan Mata paired with up Eden Hazard during the entire game to display the potential they have to make Chelsea strong in the flanks. Short instances of swift passing, one-to-one passing, wide play and crossing from both the ends was displayed by both the players in combination. Both these players could prove to be beneficial for Chelsea so as to strengthen the mid-field.

2. Ivanovic - Cole combination
A vintage combination of two players, Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole, as wing backs continued to display positive signs of improving Chelsea defence and take it to the next level.

3. The Torres struggle
After having a successful Euro 2012, Fernando Torres came out with confidence and energy to prove his 50 million pound worth as a Chelsea player. Although he has been criticized a lot during his Chelsea tenure, he has always showed high-levels of dedication towards the game. His luck did not favour him when he missed an opportunity to score a goal, when the ball was cleared off the line by the Wigan defender.

4. Oscar winning decision
Roman Abramovich's decision of buying Oscar will certainly pay off for Chelsea in the near future with the promise that he showed during the game. One example of his prowess was seen when passed a through-ball to Ivanovic, only to be cleared by the Wigan defender.

5. Strong Bench
Having a strong bench of players, is something new that Chelsea has seen over the past few years. Chelsea now has strong back-up to overcome any kind of shortcomings during the tenure of the season.

With other teams trying to strengthen their squads, Chelsea definitely have gone in the right direction to do the same. It yet remains to be seen if they add or subtract their team of players before the transfer window closes on 31st August 2012. Chelsea will have to work on some aspects of the game, like concentration, focus and coordination, before their next game against Reading on 22nd August 2012, at home.

Image reference: http://cdn.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/premierleaguelogo.jpg; http://www.chelseaitalia.com/images/stories/stagione2012-2013/biglietti/20120818-biglietto-wigan-chelsea-presentazione.jpg
Article reference: http://www.chelseafc.com/; http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/08/19/bpl_sunday_roundup_recap/

Chelsea's search for European glory ends in Munich

Chelsea embraced European Glory for the first time in the history of Champions League on 19th May 2012 after beating Bayern Munich in their own turf at Allianz Arena, Munich. Chelsea were in pursuit of this cup since Roman Abramovich took over as the owner of the club in 2004. Being a Chelsea fan, this cup literally meant everything to the club since it was the only one missing in Chelsea's cabinet. The match ended in a draw after extra time and was won in the penalties with a scoreline of 4-3 favoring Chelsea.
A perfect metaphor to comprehend this game comes from a rather notorious reference. Its called as 'Strangling to Death' as many would understand it. Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea manager) put on a very clever squad in order to counteract the wing play from Bayern's players Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery. Instead of going for an extra attacker, Roberto went for an extra defender that allowed Chelsea to watch the attacks from Bayern. As expected, Bayern started firing towards the goal right from the very start. Chelsea had to sit back and neutralize any attacks coming from Bayern, just as they did it in the semi-finals against Barcelona. Bayern failed to capitalize on any of their chances in the first half and their efforts should be deemed as 'poor'; considering the fact that both the teams went into half time with a score of 0-0. Chelsea had a couple of notable chances in the first half but even they could not put the ball past the net.
Chelsea's confidence and Bayern's frustration increased as time passed by. Clearly, time was of essence to both the teams. As second half passed by, all of the Bayern's efforts were futile and they were just not able to find a crack in Chelsea's defense. Chelsea had already shown signs of their resilient defending against Barcelona and they were repeating the same performance in this game as well. Ashley Cole (Chelsea player) needs a mention here for his performance because of his marvelous defensive abilities and sharp awareness of the game around him. Roberto's gamble of putting Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea player) as an additional defender in the team was already visible in the scoreline which stood at 0-0 as the clock ticked past 70 minutes. Ryan perfectly marked Philipp Lahm (Bayern player) to cancel out his right wing runs throughout the match. Ryan was substituted by Roberto to bring on Flourent Malouda in the 73rd minute of the game to change things around.
Bayern's endeavour for goal was finally paid off in the 83rd minute of the match when Thomas Muller (Bayern player) headed the ball to net it past Petr Cech (Chelsea goalkeeper). Bayern were ecstatic since they only had a few minutes to survive the match and hold on to the lead. Chelsea's emotions were marred by the defeat they had suffered against Manchester United in the 2008 campaign. It all seemed lost of Chelsea at the moment and the dreaded thought of competing for the cup next time started flowing through Chelsea supporters.
Chelsea's evergreen talisman Didier Drogba had other thoughts when he scored the goal in the dying 88th minute of the match to head the ball in the net from a Juan Mata (Chelsea player) corner. Chelsea's hopes were rekindled and their quest for the enchanted cup was still 'on'. Bayern were heart-broken as they almost had one hand on the cup. Bayern players were visibly sad and gloomy on the pitch as they had just given away a precious lead that could have won them the cup. After seeing the Chelsea goal, all the players had embraced the fact that they had to slog it for 30 more minutes to win the cup. As it ended, after full time the score recorded was 1-1 to both the teams.
Bayern were emotionally tired and that was reflected in their physical semblance, whereas Chelsea on the other hand looked fresh and raring to go after recently having scored the goal to snatch the match back from the Germans. There were clear signs of fatigue in both camps with the poor quality of passing seen during the extra time. Bayern had a wonderful opportunity to seal the match when they were awarded a penalty following a stupid tackle by Didier Drogba on Frank Ribery in the box. Arjen Robben stepped up to take this golden opportunity but Cech dogded this penalty to deny Bayern the win yet again. It all seemed to Chelsea's way at this point in the match with all the missed chances and missed penalty. Finally, after a couple of substitutions from both sides, the match ended as 1-1 draw after extra time.
It was time for penalties and Chelsea seemed more nervous because they had lost the cup back in 2008 at this same stage. Apparently Bayern had never lost a match in Champions League in the penalty stage but the scars of conceding the lead and missing the earlier penalty were still afresh in the players mind. Readers are directed to this video to watch the penalties as they happened in the match.

Champions League Final 2011/2012: Penalties

As soon as Didier Drogba scored the winning penalty, Chelsea crowd erupted as they had just witnessed history in the making that would be written forever after today. Weeping in tears of joy, Chelsea fans finally rejoiced the moment they had been waiting for the past 8 years. Bayern players were devastated as started to wonder it could have been them today. All the players were handed the medal of honor and Chelsea players were handed the Champions League Cup that had Chelsea etched on it for the very first time.

Chelsea FC: Champions League 2011/2012 Winners

 It was a night where the 'luck charm' was in the hands of Chelsea and with this, they accomplished the unthinkable.Chelsea's performance in the Champions League has not been short of a fairy tale. It is not sure as where Chelsea go on from here, but one thing is for sure that because of this victory they will be competing for this cup yet again next year. There have been rumors that Didier Drogba, who literally won Chelsea the trophy !, could be leaving Chelsea to join another team. Whatever the future beholds for him, he will sorely be missed here in Chelsea for his flair, strength, motivation and performance. It is also not quite surely if Roberto will be given a permanent role as a Chelsea manager, but if he is, he would definitely be the right person to take up this role at this time. Roman Abramovich can finally add the much awaited feather in his cap since he took over Chelsea FC.
As we come to the close of yet another thrilling football season, it does not get mentioned enough that 'Football never stops amazing'. As players head off for a summer packed with football, we now await to see breath-taking performances at the national level in EURO 2012 campaign which starts from 8th June 2012.


Article Sources:
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/live/day=13/session=1/match=2007693/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C._in_European_football
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000267/match=2007693/postmatch/report/index.html#shoot+ends+chelseas+long+wait+glory
Image Source:
Michaela Rehle/REUTERS; http://www.sportlive.co.za/incoming/2012/05/20/chelsea-champions-league-final.jpg/ALTERNATES/crop_630x400/Chelsea+Champions+League+final.jpg

Premier League season 2011/2012 : Chelsea's perspective

Premier League fans were witness to one of the greatest sporting drama of all times on the last day of the league when Manchester City scored twice in the last 5 minutes to win the league in almost 44 years to oust their neighbors Manchester United. While that happened, Chelsea wrapped up their season with a win by a margin of 2-1 over relegated Blackburn Rovers. Chelsea managed to finish 6th in the league and football pundits term this as 'Chelsea worst league finish in a decade'. We now look back at the defining moments of Chelsea's Premier league campaign this year.

The Start: Chelsea were looking confident at the start of the season with the appointment of a new manager Andre Villas Boas (AVB). Having won a number of accolades, AVB was pitched to be the right person at the start of the season to lead Chelsea to yet another Premier league football glory. Chelsea had a scrappy start with a draw against Stoke City away from home. Soon after that, Chelsea consecutively won 3 matches in a row beating West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City and Sunderland. 

First Loss: Chelsea suffered its first loss of the season to the title holders, Manchester United by a margin of 3-1 while playing away. Fernando Torres's (Chelsea striker) miss in the match is still considered to be the 'miss of the season' when he failed to net the ball that could have changed the face of the match.

Home Losses against Arsenal and Liverpool: Chelsea's hopes of winning the title received a big punch when they lost against two strong oppositions at home, viz. Arsenal and Liverpool. Chelsea lost to Arsenal by a margin of 3-5, thanks to a wonderful hat-trick by Robin van Persie (Arsenal). A late goal by Glen Johnson (Liverpool) cost them the Liverpool match by a margin of 1-2. 

Inconsistency: Things were looking shady for Chelsea by the end of November 2011 after the consecutive losses, but Chelsea pulled up their socks to secure three consecutive wins against Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City. A win against Manchester City was a big morale boost to the players and the manager as they re-started believing that they could pull something off in the league. Complacency crept in the Chelsea dressing room after this crucial win and they drew the next three matches, which brought them back to square-one.

End of the year 2011: Chelsea failed to capitalize the home advantage on the last day of the year 2011 when they faced Aston Villa and lost 1-3 to them. By this time people and pundits had started doubting AVB as the right manager to lead the Chelsea squad. As Chelsea moved into the new year, they had to forget the previous abysmal performances and make a fresh start.

The New Year 2012: Chelsea started the new year strongly with two wins and a draw. This confidence was oozing when they faced Manchester United at home and were leading 3-0 which probably seemed to be Chelsea's biggest win of the season. But sloppy Chelsea defense and determined United side were the major reasons for the match to end in a draw 3-3. 

Andre Villas Boas sacked: AVB was sacked on 5th March 2012 after dismal performances by the Chelsea team in the previous months. Recent losses at Everton and West Bromwich Albion were the main reason for his exit. The owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, said he had high confidence in AVB but could not afford to see Chelsea performing badly in the season. After AVB left, Roberto di Matteo took over as the caretaker manager. 

Roberto di Matteo's reign: Since Roberto took over as caretaker manager at Chelsea, the team has had respectable statistics as compared to AVB's rule. Out of the 11 matches, Chelsea have lost 3, won 4, drawn 4. During this time Chelsea also managed to pull-off miracles in the Champions League and clinched the FA Cup against Liverpool that added another silverware in Chelsea's bag. 

Chelsea FC: FA Cup winners 2011/2012

Roberto's introduction as Chelsea manager in mid-March helped Chelsea get through a tough phase in its season. Crucial contributions by veterans along with the new-comers in the Chelsea team has helped them see off this season.Chelsea managed to finished 6th in the league, which does seem applause-able after everything the team has been through. Strong performances by teams like Tottenham Hotspurs and Newcastle United, who stand above Chelsea in the table, is also one of the reasons for Chelsea's poor finish in the league. Chelsea have to start converting the draws into wins, losses into draws in the next season if they are to be even considered as title contenders and salvage anything in the next season. Chelsea do not have an option to lose in the Champions League final on 19th May 2012 because if they do, they will not only lose the cup this year but also lose out on competing for the cup next year considering the fact that they could not finish in the top four in this year's league.

Roberto promises to be a very confident and intelligent manager for Chelsea but his leadership will be truly tested when Chelsea will go against Bayern Munich in the finals of Champions League 2011/2012. A win in this match would be a cue to Roberto's appointment as a full-time coach for Chelsea in the years to come. With all the other players gearing up for EURO 2012, Chelsea's men have to first engrave their name on the Champions League title on 19th May 2012 before heading off to EURO 2012.  

Barclays Premier League 2011/2012: Final Standings

Article Sources:

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/results.html?paramClubId=4

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/FixturesAndResults/0,,10268,00.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17250464

Image Sources:

http://www.iphonebrella.com/thumbnails/large_chelsea_fc_62849.jpeg

http://bluechampions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Chelsea-FA-Cup-2012-600x369.jpg

http://www.signsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Premier-League-2012-full-table.png

Impaired Chelsea army march to Munich by defeating Barcelona

If you watched the semi-final clash between Barcelona and Chelsea on 24th April 2012 at 08:45pm GMT, I would like to congratulate you for coming alive out of it. If you did not, you saved yourself from the extreme emotions that were experienced throughout the game to see Chelsea reach the finals of this year's Champions League campaign. It was a hard fought battle between both sides who were in it for their own pride and glory; Chelsea have been eagerly wanting to lift the Champions League since like forever... whereas Barcelona wanted to defend their title from the previous year.
Chelsea went to Barcelona's home Camp Nou for the second leg of the semi-finals with a 1-0 lead from the first leg at Chelsea's home Stamford Bridge a week ago. There was too much pressure on Chelsea players to perform at an intimidating location such as Camp Nou. Infact, Barcelona were favorites to go through into the finals since they were playing at home in the second leg.
It was time to stop talking and start playing. Chelsea and Barcelona kicked-off the semi-finals and right from the start Barcelona went for the kill as they were lagging behind in the tie. Chelsea suffered a big blow when their central defender Gary Cahill had to be substituted for a groin injury in the earlier part of the game. Barcelona kept on pushing into Chelsea half trying to rip apart their defense time and over again. Chelsea finally succumbed to Barcelona attack when Isaac Cuenca's cross was calmly finished by Barcelona's central mid-fielder Sergio Busquets. Barcelona were 1-0 up and roaring in the match. Chelsea's captain John Terry would not have received even a little sympathy from anyone when he kicked Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez only to be sent off in the 37th minute of the match. Chelsea were now down to 10-men, as a result Barcelona capitalized on their lead to go further ahead by yet another calm finish by Andres Iniesta which was setup by Lionel Messi. Barcelona were now 2-0 up and leading in the clash, noise at the stadium was almost deafening.
But Chelsea's mid-fielder Ramires, who had assisted the goal in the earlier leg, was not too much keen to hear the Spaniards roar, so he silenced the Camp Nou crowd just at the brink of half-time by scoring an excellent chip goal which was passed by the master Frank Lampard. Both the teams went into the halftime with a scoreline of 2-1 to Barcelona and a man down to Chelsea.
During the interval, for Chelsea it was just a matter of another half to see them go through and for Barcelona it was just a matter of a goal to see them go through. At the start of second half, the game was perfectly poised for both the teams. The second half promised to test the prowess and valor of each of these teams. Second half started pretty much as expected with Barcelona going all guns blazing. Continuous attack after attack from Barcelona was thwarted and cancelled by the handicapped Chelsea defense, who were missing both their key central defenders. Barcelona were given a lifeline when Chelsea's Didier Drogba brought down Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas in Chelsea's box to concede a penalty. Lionel Messi stepped up to take the penalty, but his shot hit the woodwork to fall back safely to one of the Chelsea defenders who cleared it out of Chelsea's half. Chelsea survived a big scare during this time and if Barcelona would have scored, then Chelsea's chances would have seemed bleak. Both the teams exhausted their substitutions when the final substitution came from Chelsea side to replace Didier Drogba by Fernando Torres. Torres was very much keen and eager to play in the clash and was ready to prove his worth after he did not get his chance to play in the previous leg. Barcelona failed to net the ball, thereby reducing their chances with every attempt towards goal. Finally in the dying minutes, Chelsea fate was sealed when Fernando Torres scored another goal on the counter to give Chelsea the much required air to breathe and to comfortably see through them through in the remaining seconds of the match. The game ended with a final scoreline of 2-2 to both the teams with Chelsea advancing into the finals with an aggregate scoreline of 3-2.
Chelsea's journey to the finals has been more like a fairy tale, winning difficult games like Napoli (round of 16), Benfica (quarter-finals) and Barcelona (semi-finals). It remains to see who will their next opponent be in the finals. If they have to face Bayern Munich, who will play hosts to this year's final in Munich, they will surely be in for yet another round of intimidating fan support in the stadium. If they have to face Real Madrid, who is currently managed by Jose Mourinho, they will come against an opponent not in the form of a club but in the form of a manager who knows literally everything about Chelsea. Whatever the case is, Chelsea is in for a match of a lifetime and with crucial players like John Terry, Raul Meireles missing from the final, Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich will be betting eveything he has to see Chelsea lift the cup on 19th May 2012 in Munich, Germany.

 

Picture Source: http://www.tws3d.com/wallpapers/champions-league-final-munich-1280x800.jpg

Chelsea FC: Half the battle won

In one of the most tactically advanced football matches of recent times, Chelsea FC emerged victorious against the mighty FC Barcelona in the first leg of semi-final clash in the UEFA Champions League campaign this year. Chelsea won the game by a small margin of 1-0, but the dedication that the team showed to beat a classy Barcelona shows that English clubs can bring in the flair and spark on a football night whenever needed.
Barcelona dominated the possession, as usual, throughout the entire match but could not cash in on chances whenever required. Chelsea was blessed by 'Lady Luck' as Barcelona hit the woodwork twice to be denied a crucial away goal, that would have changed the entire dynamics of the clash. Having said that nothing and I mean absolutely nothing can be taken away from Chelsea as they produced a near 'perfect' performance as expected by their manager Roberto di Matteo.
A total of 24 attempts on goal by Barcelona was cancelled out by marvelous Chelsea defense along with some unlucky ones by Barcelona themselves. Barcelona did not seem to be in their best stride when they failed to materialize even their free kicks. The torch-bearer of Barcelona attack, Lionel Messi, was literally marked by all the 11 Chelsea players. Lionel Messi was bravely defended with some astonishing tackles from Chelsea players. Barcelona's mid-field did not deliver the usual passes in the box and even failed to execute the 1-2's. All in all, Barcelona's game was pretty unusual from their original.
The tactics employed by Roberto can be deemed to be the best as Barcelona failed to score in the entire span of the match. Chelsea had done their homework very well and that's where they hit Barcelona hard when they grabbed a goal on the counter attack with a pass that was initiated by Frank Lampard. Ramires was on the receiving side of this amazing pass and with his speed he ripped apart Barcelona defense to cross the ball to Didier Drogba, who comfortably finished the only goal of the match. Roberto was successful in this tactical battle because he managed to clinically exploit the strengths of each of the Chelsea players to their very best. Drogba probably had the best match in his recent times, Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole were simply superb in defense and  Ramires was used as a counter-attack resource of the team.
Although it is just half of the story, it remains to see what the other half has in store for us. Playing at Camp Nou, Barcelona's home, will be extremely difficult for Chelsea, as Barcelona will plan to take revenge of the earlier defeat and move on to the finals of the cup. But with such a performance from a dedicated Chelsea side, who have been looking to win the UEFA Champions League forever, no one knows what we will be subjected to on the 24th April 2012.    

Chelsea player analysis:
Didier Drogba - Brilliant in both defense and attack, Scored the goal
Ramires - Superb counter-attack, Assisted the goal
Frank Lampard - Shrewd passing, Good defense
Raul Meireles - Marked the Barcelona mid-fielders very well
Juan Mata - Held the right flank, Did not have much to do in the entire match
John Obi Mikel - Marked Lionel Messi well, Kept possession
Ashley Cole - Brilliant defense, Amazing runs in the left flank, Marked Alexis Sanchez and Dani Alves
John Terry - Brick-wall in defense, Stopped crucial shots from Lionel Messi
Gary Cahill - Superb defensive performance, Brilliant tackling
Branislav Ivanovic - Sloppy defense, Gave away the possession a couple of times
Petr Cech - Extraordinary saves, Kept a clean sheet

Buoyant Benfica loose to Cheeky Chelsea

Many of us would be drooling over the next set of fixtures in the UEFA Champions League 2011-2012 campaign, but impudent display of football from Chelsea side in the second leg of quarter-final against Benfica raises some serious questions about Chelsea. Chelsea managed to clinch the game with a win margin of 2-1 against a 10-men Benfica side that looked to deliver much more than it was supposed to.
Benfica started the game strong with immaculate passing of the ball, throwing as many men towards the Chelsea goal. One could say that Chelsea were lucky to survive the influx of attempts towards the goal from a determined Benfica side, who had lost in the earlier leg by a scoreline of 0-1.
The first break for Chelsea came when they were awarded a penalty by the referee for bringing down Ashley Cole in the box. Ever reliable Frank Lampard stood up to take the penalty and saw the ball go past underneath Benfica's goal-keeper. Chelsea were up by 1-0 and cruising in the fixture.
Maxi Pereira was shown a second yellow card on the 40th minute mark by the referee for his tackle on Jon Obi Mikel. Soon after the dismissal of Maxi Pereira, people saw life fade away from the game. For the next 40 minutes, crowd were subjected to a Chelsea side that showed no intentions of taking advantage of a deprived Benfica side. Chelsea only had a countable number of attempts to goal, but every attempt was futile as they failed to score again that would have sealed the victory.
On the other hand, Benfica showed promise and persistence to go for a miraculous victory. Eventually they were rewarded by a goal from a corner that was netted in by Javi Garcia. Fans could have literally cut the tension with a knife in the nervous moments of the match 5 minutes from time. Chelsea fans were hoping and praying hard for Benfica not to score again, as it would have eliminated Chelsea out of the cup and shattered their hopes for this year as well. Raul Meireles ran the entire length of the field after the ball was cleared off Benfica's free kick, as he turned out to be the messiah on this occasion by scoring the much awaited cushion goal in the dying minutes of the match to send Chelsea safely into the next round.
Chelsea now face the reigning champions, Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League campaign. As mouth-watering as it appears, Chelsea must dig deep into their reservoir if they are to salvage anything from this fixture. Barcelona have always carried a 'Cyclop' like figure in the football world and overcoming them would mean playing at a potential you are much more capable of. Chelsea would face Barcelona at home on 18th April 2012 and away on 24th April 2012. It remains to see what Pep Guardiola and his Barcelona boys have in store for Roberto di Matteo's Chelsea side.

Chelsea player analysis:
Fernando Torres - Torrid, Sloppy, Indecisive
Juan Mata - Good Passing, Flair, Non-clinical strikes
Ramires - Good runs, Missed a wonderful opportunity in the match
Frank Lampard - Excellent passing, Excellent control of the ball, Converted the penalty
Jon Obi Mikel - Oblivious, Earned a Benfica red-card
Salomon Kalou - Poor dribbling, Left flank weakend
Branislav Ivanovic - Good clearance, Held the right-back flank very well  
John Terry - Strong defence, Good marking
David Luiz - Good defence, cheeky clearances, Gave away ball at times
Ashley Cole - Good runs in the left-flank, Earned the penalty